"Paul Loeb brings hope for a better world in a time when we so urgently need it."--Millard Fuller, founder, Habitat for Humanity

"The voices Loeb finds demonstrate that courage can be another name for love."-- Alice Walker

"You are part of what's good about this world and I admire your work very much."

—-- Bill Moyers

“When my daughter asked from college how to be an effective grassroots citizen, I gave her Paul's books.”--Josette Sheeran, former Executive Director, United Nations World Food Program

"I stayed up half the night reading Soul of a Citizen, finding it a beautiful and morally transcendent work that speaks in gentle words directly to the heart. The new edition is magnificent."

—-- Jonathan Kozol

"Paul Loeb has been doing wonderfully patient work, exploring the American conscience from the inside. I regard Loeb as something of a national treasure."-- Susan Sontag

Soul of a Citizen

The Impossible Will Take a Little While

"A lot of smart people who have some influence on the course of history will read and admire you--and learn from you."

-- Kurt Vonnegut

Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of Soul Of a Citizen: Living With Conviction In Challenging Times. With over 165,000 copies in print through updated editions, Soul has become a classic handbook for budding social activists, veteran organizers, and anyone who wants to make a difference—large or small. An antidote to powerlessness and despair, it has inspired thousands of citizens to make their voices heard and actions count—and then stay involved for the long haul. Soul explores what leads some people to get involved in larger community issues while others feel overwhelmed or uncertain; what it takes to maintain commitment for the long haul; and how community involvement and citizen activism can give back a powerful sense of connection and purpose. It speaks particularly to how to keep engaged despite dashed hopes and disillusionment. Click here for Soul's description, sample sections, and wonderful reviews, as well as information on classroom use.

Loeb's global anthology of political hope, The Impossible Will Take a Little While: Perseverance and Hope in Troubled Times, has its own wholly updated edition released by Basic Books in May 2014 with over 100,000 copies in print, The Impossible creates a conversation among some of the most visionary and eloquent voices of our time: Think Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Bill Moyers, Arundhati Roy, Tony Kushner, Bill McKibben, Paul Hawken, Pablo Neruda and Vaclav Havel. Alice Walker, Mary Pipher, Jonathan Kozol, Diane Ackerman, and Marian Wright Edelman. Cornel West, Terry Tempest Williams, Dan Savage, Desmond Tutu, and Howard Zinn. These essays, poems, and stories, along with Loeb's extended introductions, teach us how to keep on working for a more humane world, replenish the wellsprings of our commitment, and continue no matter how hard it sometimes seems. Loeb has included pieces that explore the historical, political, ecological and spiritual frameworks that help us to persist— with concrete examples of how people have faced despair and overcome it. They examine what it was like to confront South African apartheid, the Egyptian and Eastern European dictatorships, Mississippi's entrenched segregation, the corporations driving global climate change, or the Robber Barons of 100 years ago. The stories don't sugarcoat the obstacles. But they inspire hope by showing what keeps us keeping on--even when the odds seem overwhelming. They replenish the wellsprings of our commitment. The Impossible is a BookSense independent bookstores bestseller and, like Soul, won the Nautilus Award for the best social change book of its year. Click here for a description, excerpts, rave reviews, and information on The Impossible's wonderful classroom responses .

Paul is also the founder of the Campus Election Engagement Project, (CEEP), a national nonpartisan project that helps America's colleges and universities motivate their 20 million students to register, volunteer in campaigns, educate themselves, and turn out at the polls. CEEP focuses on how administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders can help engage students. CEEP worked with over 400 campuses in 2018 and is now engaging students for 2019-2020.

If you're not already receiving Paul's monthly articles, sign up to receive them. Paul continues to lecture widely on both Soul and The Impossible. Click here to see if he's coming to your community or to bring him in, and here to pass the word on his books.